Andes, NY (Public Programs and Fundraising)

Oneonta, NY (Public Outreach, Workshop Curriculum)

Franklin, NY (Bright Hill Community Library)

Sidney Center, NY (The Word & Image Gallery and Public Programs)

Judy TompkinsDIRECTOR

Morris, NY (Public Outreach and Workshop Curriculum)

Bertha Rogers Founding Executive Director

West Delhi

Rogers co-founded (with her husband, Ernest M. Fishman) Bright Hill Press in 1992 and has served as executive director since that time. She is responsible for the Word Thursdays reading series, Bright Hill Book Publication, the Literary Workshops for Kids and BHP Internship Programs, and administers the NYS Literary website and map, which Bright Hill developed in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts. Rogers is a poet whose work has appeared in hundreds of literary journals and in several collections; she also is a translator of Anglo-Saxon poetry; her translation of Beowulf was published in 2000, and her translation of the 95 Riddle-Poems from the Anglo-Saxon Exeter Book is forthcoming. She serves as one of two jurors in the New York State Fair Poetry Contest, and sits on the panel of Empire State Center for the Book Writer Hall of Fame, in its seventh year. She has received several NYSCA and NYFA grants and residency fellowships to the McDowell Colony, the Millay Artists Colony, Jentel, Caldera, Saltonstall, Hedgebrook, and Hawthornden International Writers Residence (Scotland). A master teaching artist, her contributions were included in the new Open the Door: How to Excite Young People About Poetry (the Poetry Foundation and McSweeney’s, 2013). Contact: (w) 607-829-5055 or [email protected]

BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROFILES 2017

Michael HammerslagPresident/Chief Executive Officer

Michael Hammerslag, Walton and NYC, NY (Fund-raising, development) Hammerslag joined the real estate industry in 1988; his career, now stretching nearly a quarter century, has allowed him to be involved in nearly every aspect of real estate. He has also taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels, at U. Conn., Cornell University, SUNY Oneonta, and NYU. He holds undergraduate degrees in computer science, mathematics and business, MBAs in finance and real estate, and was a doctoral candidate in finance a U. Conn. He serves as the VP of Education and member of the executive committee of Chapter 26 (NYC) of the Institute of Real Estate Management. He joined Bright Hill’s board in 2013. His term is up in 2018.

Vicki R. DavisDIRECTOR

Vicki R. Davis, Sidney Center, NY (The Word & Image Gallery and Public Programs) Davis, whose recent productions include “The Illiad,” “The Threepenny Opera,” and “Katie Roche for The Mint’s Teresa Deevy Project,” has numerous Off Broadway, regional theater and opera performances to her credit. She is the recipient of a TCG/NEA Design Fellowship, a Thomas S. Kenan Institute Breathe Grant, the USITT Design Expo Selection/2010 publication; and she is included in several Who’s Who Publications. Davis is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. She has been a Bright Hill director since 2007. Her term is up in 2016.

Katharine KreisherDIRECTOR

Katharine Kreisher, Schenevus, NY (The Word & Image Gallery & Youth Programs) Katharine Kriesher is Professor of Art at Hartwick College. She received her MFA and MA at the University at Albany, State University of New York; her BS at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs. She teaches courses in documentary photography and alternative processes as well as shot-related printmaking methods. Her autobiographical work centers on highly manipulated photographic images and photo-etchings. She is a founding member of the Round House Press at Hartwick. She has been artist in residence at Millay Colony for the Arts in Austerlitz, NY and has been part of numerous exhibitions including “Hair” and the international traveling exhibit, “Diamonds are Forever: Artist and Writers on Baseball.” Her work has been collected by The Center for Photography at Woodstock and Albany Institute of History and Art, among others. Her term is up in 2020.

Ronald GuichardVICE-PRESIDENT

Ronald Guichard, Andes, NY (Public Programs, Meals & Entertainment) Since 1982 Ron Guichard has earned a reputation as an active broker in the transition of some of the most luxurious properties and estates sold in the Catskills, achieving outstanding results selling and procuring properties for celebrities and professionals. He has lived in Andes since he was a child and he is an active community member in Andes as well as serving on Bright Hill’s board since 2010. His term is up in 2016.

Lynne KemenDIRECTOR

Lynne Kemen, Franklin, NY (Library and Public Programs) Lynne Kemen, PhD, has backgrounds in theater and literature, in managing a medical practice, teaching psychology as an Associate Professor (adjunct) at Hunter College, and in advising undergraduate students as the Hunter Psychology Department Undergraduate Advisor. She also holds an MA in Theatre Arts and Dramatic Literature from Cornell University and has served several arts organizations, including the McCarter Theatre in Princeton and managing The Phoenix Theatre in NYC. She helped found the Center for Dance Medicine in NYC, which did educational programs and workshops for dancers, and wrote the management handbook for the Off-Off Broadway Alliance. Books, writers, writing and literacy are important to her in part because she wants to share the enjoyment that comes from reading books (usually several at a time). She joined the board in 2016. Her term is up in 2020.

Gayane TorosyanDIRECTOR

Gayane Torosyan is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Communication Arts Department at State University of New York College at Oneonta. Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Gayane Torosyan graduated from Yerevan State University with a degree in mathematics. In 1995, she won a two-year graduate fellowship to complete a Masters degree at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication. After working for a year with an international media development agency in Armenia, Torosyan and her family returned to the United States in 1998. She joined the doctoral program in Mass Communication at the University of Iowa and received her degree in December 2003 under the advisement of Dr. Kenneth Starck. Combining academic work with professional journalism, Torosyan has also worked as a reporter and program host at an NPR affiliate radio station in Iowa City for almost ten years. In August 2005 she joined the faculty of the State University of New York College at Oneonta as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Arts. Her areas of academic interest include broadcast journalism and international media.

Lorinda MorganSECRETARY

Lorinda Morgan, Franklin, NY (Bright Hill Community Library) Born in Plainfield NJ in 1939, Morgan studied at Douglass College in NJ. In 1966 she and her husband moved to Walton, where they purchased a dairy farm. In the early 70s, they also formed and operated a real estate company and Dreamstreet Inc, a cattle investment company. After the sale of this company, they went back to full time dairy farming. In 2012 they sold their farm and moved. with 9 heifers, to Bourne Pond in Franklin. They have 5 children and 10 grandchildren. Her love of books and interest in the Bright Hill programs led her to the Bright Hill Library! She joined Bright Hill’s board in 2013. Her term is up in 2018.

William DukeDIRECTOR

William Duke, Andes, NY (Public Programs and Fundraising) William Duke is a gardener, poet, singer songwriter, painter, yoga Instructor, and real estate broker. He is the a former skipper and board member of the Gowns Dredger and a former board member of Codman Academy Charter School. He currently owns and manages Willow Drey Farm, a new wedding/ event space in Andes. He joined the board in 2016. His term is up in 2020.

Judy TompkinsDIRECTOR

Judy Tompkins attended George Washington University where she earned her degree in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business. After graduation, she worked in marketing for The Washington Post and IBM-China, and later served as a visiting professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. She returned to the United States and settled in Morris, New York, where she owns and operates Elkdale Dairy Farm with her husband, Ken Tompkins. In 2010, Judy founded Mikolaj Productions to develop her food and talk show Fresh Start, with cable station WISF. In 2015, she founded Lord and Tompkins, LLC, a realty enhancement company geared toward tourism and entertainment.

ADVISORY BOARD

COLETTE INEZ

Poet, Educator (Columbia University, Bucknell, Others)
New York, NY

EARL W. ROBERTS III

Writer, Methodist Minister
Drums, PA

BETTY HEAD

Educator, Nonprofit Director
Altamonte, NY

JADE ROTH

Ceo, Sagence Learning Inc.
Washington, Dc and New York City
Brooklyn, NY

MARTIN MITCHELL

Editor
The Same Literary Magazine
New York, NY

RACHEL ROTH

Educator
Columbia Greenhouse Pre-school
New York, NY

STAFF

Bertha RogersFOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Bertha Rogers, West Delhi
Rogers co-founded (with her husband, Ernest M. Fishman) Bright Hill Press in 1992 and has served as executive director since that time. She is responsible for the Word Thursdays reading series, Bright Hill Book Publication, the Literary Workshops for Kids and BHP Internship Programs, and administers the NYS Literary website and map, which Bright Hill developed in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts. Rogers is a poet whose work has appeared in hundreds of literary journals and in several collections; she also is a translator of Anglo-Saxon poetry; her translation of Beowulf was published in 2000, and her translation of the 95 Riddle-Poems from the Anglo-Saxon Exeter Book is forthcoming. She has received several NYSCA and NYFA grants and residency fellowships to the McDowell Colony, the Millay Artists Colony, Jentel, Caldera, Saltonstall, Hedgebrook, and Hawthornden International Writers Residence (Scotland). A master teaching artist, her contributions were included in the new Open the Door: How to Excite Young People About Poetry (the Poetry Foundation and McSweeney’s, 2013). Contact: (w) 607-829-5055 or [email protected]

Beatrice GeorgalidisEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Beatrice Georgalidis has worked in film and television for ten years, producing commercials, films and live-television events for Sundance Channel, MTV, VH1, and more. She is a writer educated at Tisch School of the Arts Dramatic Writing Program, and has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications from SUNY Oneonta where she was honored as Best and Brightest in 2014. Her professional history includes managing The Players Club, a private estate on Gramercy Park where she produced large-scale events for clients like George Clooney and Disney, as well as extensive work in Los Angeles with best-selling author and congressional candidate Marianne Williamson, and the post-production team at USA Films. While at Cornell Medical College for a four-year term, she served as Administrative Coordinator of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (on the forefront of AIDS, cancer and tuberculosis research), where her career as a grant writer began. In 2012, she founded her multidisciplinary company Certain Grants. She has worked with over forty clients writing grants, producing advertising and fundraising campaigns, and creating digital content. She has been published in Oprah magazine and is the recipient of numerous writing awards. Contact: (w) 607-829-5055; or [email protected]

Lawrence E. ShawADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Lawrence E. Shaw, Delhi, NY

Shaw has worked at Bright Hill as Administrative and Editorial Assistant, as well as NYS LitTree Administrative Assistant, for 12 and one-half years. He formerly was an accountant for the Delhi Telephone Company (30 years). He is active in the community, volunteering for the Food Pantry and at his church; and he also belongs to a horseshoe-pitching association and a bowling league. When on vacation, he likes to travel. Contact: (w) 607-829-5055 or [email protected]

Interns

Sierra Sangetti-Daniels

Sierra Sangetti-Daniels is a Grants & Administration Assistant Intern for Bright Hill Press and Literacy Center of the Catskills. She is currently a senior at the State University of New York at Oneonta where she is studying Communications with a focus in Journalism. Sierra is a freelance writer for the Daily Star regional newspaper where she covers various events and channels her millennial enthusiasm into a personal column. She additionally writes profiles, features, and thrifty finds pieces for Upstate Life magazine. In her free time, she is an advocate for equality and overall kindness. Sierra is originally from Brooklyn, NY, and plans to return to the big city upon graduation next Spring.

Hannah Reilly

Hannah Reilly is a Web Design Intern for Bright Hill Press and Literary Center of the Catskills. She is a Senior at the State University of New York at Oneonta where she is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Arts in Computer Art with a Minor in Mass Communications. She participated in the redesign of the Bright Hill Website. She created wireframe documents, implemented content, assisted in the design layout, and took photographs for the site. She has been on the Dean’s List twice and has been on the E-Board for multiple clubs on campus. She enjoys web design and graphic design along with photography. She hopes to continue utilizing the skills she used in the redesign of the website in her future endeavors.

Danielle Thomas

​Danielle Thomas is a Web Design Intern for Bright Hill Press and Literary Center of the Catskills. She is currently a student at the State University of New York at Oneonta where she is pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Computer Art. She participated in the redesign of Bright Hill Press’ website, www.brighthillpress.org, where she worked as part of a team to design, transfer and implement all information into the new design. Along with her passion for web design, Danielle enjoys graphic design and creative expression through photography. Danielle has been featured in the Annual Student Art show multiple times and has qualified for the Dean’s list and Provost List. When she isn’t at school, Danielle is home on Long Island where she enjoys time with her family, the beach and trips to the city to explore.

Brandon Belaski

Brandon Belaski is a Web Design Intern for Bright Hill Press and Literary Center of the Catskills. He is a current student at the State University of New York at Oneonta where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Art. He participated in the redesign of Bright Hill Press’ website, as well as presenting the new website to the Board of Directors at Bright Hill Press. He worked on the design team to implement content, debug issues, and design pages. Brandon graduated from Margaretville Central School in 2014, and has recently been on the Dean’s List at SUNY Oneonta. He enjoys all aspects of Graphic Design and is open to task on any task. When he is not studying, or working, he enjoys hanging out with family and friends, listening to music, playing sports, and of course, being with his dogs.

SUMMER WORKSHOP INTERN 2017Cain Rodriguez

I’ve been doing workshops at Bright Hill Press since I was 5 and have always had positive experiences with them. I’ve learned many useful skills from Bertha for constructing models, sculptures, and other crafts, and also writing poems, riddles, and stories. She is a wonderful teacher and helper and a big motivator for me to continue supporting the workshops. I have a passion for creating things, and the Bright Hill Press workshop is an awesome space that provides access to the tools and knowledge that inspire creativity. My interests are mostly centered around the science, technology, engineering, and math fields, which is why I am particularly excited that Bright Hill has invested in a 3-D printer to incorporate into one of the workshops. Bright Hill Press provides a valuable educational opportunity that has cultivated my creativity and continues to do so for the community.